


One step at a time

by musterings



Series: Farm AU [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Barebacking, Corn - Freeform, Explicit Sexual Content, Farmer Gladio AU, First Time, Genital Piercing, Hopeful Ending, I'd put them in their mid 20s, Ignis is a lawyer, M/M, Nipple Piercings, Outdoor Sex, Porn with Feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-10-30
Packaged: 2021-03-08 18:48:35
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 9,632
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27281464
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/musterings/pseuds/musterings
Summary: "Can I help you sir?" Gladio asked."I'm just browsing," said Ignis, lip twitching in a small smile, his eyes trained on a row of bright purple eggplants."Yeah? I mean, I got somethin' for you here," said Gladio. Ignis rolled his eyes but Gladio continued with a laugh, "I'm serious, I've got your usual for the season."After a a hectic month apart, Ignis spends the weekend at Amicitia Farms.This is a sequel to"Bet the farm", a fic written for Summer Gladnis Week 2019, but you can read it standalone.
Relationships: Gladiolus Amicitia/Ignis Scientia
Series: Farm AU [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1991914
Comments: 5
Kudos: 47





	One step at a time

Any other weekend Ignis would be content to dismiss his alarms, snoozing them for five, ten, thirty more minutes, having spent almost all of his Friday evening in the office. Not at all rare for his line of work, but the extra hours were especially pertinent, to ensure that he wouldn’t be taking anything home to disturb his weekend.

Blinking the sleep out of his tired eyes, he unlocked his phone to a message received hours earlier that morning.

_ “Can’t wait to see you!!!!!” _ The message from Gladio read. Far too many exclamation marks for such a hulking man. Ignis buried his smile within his pillows. 

It got him out of bed at least. He picked out his clothes for the day, and he may have deliberated a few minutes too long in front of a mirror, before shaking his head, grabbing the overnight bag he had packed the night before from his chair by his desk and his trusty foldable basket.

The drive to the markets was long, even moreso that Noctis had stopped accompanying him, fortunately, some months ago when he decided he could make his own way there in hours less ungodly than when Ignis started his drive. Even longer too, seeing that this would be the first time Ignis would see Gladio in a whole month since their last date.

They knew long distance would be a struggle, but in a way it lined up with his busy schedule and the time that Gladio was required to be out in the countryside for his own work. But they made the effort to see other every one or two weeks, with Ignis driving out to see Gladio, or Gladio making time to see Ignis in the city between his farm’s deliveries. For a while, this sufficed, but every scarce embrace, every kiss on Ignis’s couch cut short by Gladio needing to make the long drive home so he could rise at the arse-crack of dawn the following day, filled Ignis with a surmounting want with every passing day, until they would see each other again. 

Their regular phone calls rambled and sprawled on to the dead of the night, or until one of them inevitably fell asleep—Gladio usually, as he often rose with the dawn—and Ignis would follow shortly, right after chuckling at the sound of Gladio’s snores through his phone. The last month had been particularly busy, with the biggest case in Ignis’s career coming to settlement, he missed the one time Gladio would be in town. 

His palms have been sweaty the entire leg of the drive from the gas station where he stopped to refuel—and also, make the hasty but wise decision to purchase condoms and lube and stuff them in his pockets before anyone could see—and they were just as clammy by the time he pulled up to the makeshift parking lot of the old fairground, having gripped the steering wheel so tight in anticipation.

Summer was to give way to autumn soon, but not without vengeance: with the leaves in the trees beginning to yellow, sun still bright and the air humid . Familiar vendors waved from the stalls, some fanning themselves with bits of cardboard salvaged from packaging from their wares. Ign is politely nodded and waved back, making small talk and glancing at the produce, his heart thumping in his chest as he passed each stall. 

He spotted the bright banner of the Amicitia farms from a distance, just as Iris caught his eye, throwing her arm out in an exuberant wave. Ignis approached her with his own wave, pretending to examine the fruits and vegetables in their crates. Beside her Gladio was engrossed in a conversation with a customer, until he caught Ignis from the corner of his eye too, his grin visibly growing as he wrapped up his business. 

"Can I help you sir?" Gladio asked. 

"I'm just browsing," said Ignis, lip twitching in a small smile, his eyes trained on a row of bright purple eggplants.

"Yeah? I mean, I got somethin' for you here," said Gladio. Ignis rolled his eyes but Gladio continued with a laugh, "I'm serious, I've got your usual for the season."

He hauled a small box over to the table separating him from the customers, popping the produce into Ignis's basket. 

"I added something extra for ya," said Gladio, leaning in over the display, his voice lowering that Ignis himself had to lean closer to hear. 

Ignis looked down as his basket, sifting through the box of vegetables. "Oh? Which would those be?" 

"Up here," said Gladio. 

Puzzled, Ignis looked up from his basket, and chapped lips pressed against his. Heat crept up the back of his neck, engulfing his face when Gladio pulled back with a bright and sheepish grin. 

"Gladio, really— right in front of—" 

"Heh sorry," he said, his grin unfaltering despite Ignis’s exasperated sigh. "I just missed ya so much!" 

Ignis wanted to climb over the stall separating them and hold him close, and feel that warmth that he exuded no matter the season. 

"I'm sorry, not sorry, to interrupt," Iris piped up from behind Gladio, "but we have a customer doing a huge pick up today and I'll need all the help I can get."

"Alright alright, sheesh you've had me for weeks!" Gladio turned back to Ignis, his gaze apologetic. "We'll hang out after yeah?" 

"We've waited this long," said Ignis. "I have my shopping to do anyway."

"You mean you don't come all the way here just to see little ol' me."

"Oh please," Ignis scoffed. "You're just an afterthought." 

***

Leaning his hip against one of the tables, Ignis picked at th e chopped up sausages in his paper plate, purchased at a food truck for lunch, which Gladio could only join him for a few minutes of inhaling his own food, before running off to help out with more customers. His own shopping stowed away to the back of his car, he listened to Iris excitedly catch him up on her plans for university while she packed away any unsold produce.

"Moving off the farm'll be daunting," said Iris, "but the college near home's too small. And I'll get to have my own apartment!" 

"It'll be a rewarding experience Iris, I'm sure of it."

"Oh I hope so," she said. "Mom and Dad keep going on and on about if I really  _ need  _ to leave and how they can support me just fine. After all, Gladdy was happy to stay where we were." 

"It's okay to want different things from your brother." 

"I know! But that's another thing. I feel like I'm leaving him behind." 

"If he wanted to leave, wouldn’t he have already?” Ignis asked.

"Not exactly," said Iris. "He takes his job seriously.  _ Too  _ seriously." 

"Oh?" 

"I guess I'm worried he'll commit himself to the farm 'cus I'm gone. He used to have all these big dreams after he finished college, but then he just...took over a lot of my Dad’s work. " Iris sighed. “He’s so good with people, he’s naturally very bright. He could do so many other things…” Iris then waved her hand. "Ah, sorry Iggy. You only just started dating Gladdy, I don't wanna scare you off with our drama."

"It's not drama when I care about both yours and your brother's best interests. My offer still stands. If you ever see yourself in need of any assistance after your move, you can always ask me." 

Iris grinned, so similar to Gladio it warmed Ignis's heart. "Thanks Iggy."

The two shared a look, broken apart only by the sound of Gladio's tired groan. 

“Anything else I need to take back to the truck?" he said, stretching his arms up into the sky, his muscles bulging through the sleeves of his flannel as he stretched one way and another.

“There’s a couple more crates, but why don’t you sit back and take a break?” said Iris. “Me and Prom’ll take it from here.”

Gladio squeezed her shoulder as she walked past, then cast a tired glance at Ignis.

“Hey.”

“You’ve certainly kept your favourite customer waiting,” said Ignis, his arms folded across his chest.

“I thought you didn’t mind,” Gladio said. He walked towards Ignis, sighing as he wrapped his arms around him in a bone crushing hug. “I missed you so much,” he said in a tired murmur, and there was a weight on Ignis’s head from where Gladio leant his chin on top of it.

Slowly, Ignis pulled his arms free from where Gladio held them against his side, and wrapped them around Gladio’s back, Gladio’s chest rumbling in a chuckle. “I missed you too,” he said quietly.

***

Their reunion was short lived. Gladio was driving one of their trucks back to the farm, and Ignis was back in his own car, following behind, taking in the greenery that stretched further and further, now more than two or three hours away outside of Insomnia’s centre. Signs of civilisation began to dot the landscape, until they were pulling into a small town, complete with a town hall, and quaint little shops lining the narrowing roads. They drove further, leaving the town behind them, buildings and houses disappearing again to a wide expanse of greenery, until Gladio’s truck turned into a road that led them to a low, heavy iron gate, opening out to a long dirt road lined with tall, lush trees. 

The trees whipping past his windows, Ignis drove along behind him, focus trained on the road, glancing here and there at the rolling fields of crops, the people tending to them but small specks on the horizon. A grand country house soon loomed over them, but Gladio continued past, and Ignis followed, until they approached another smaller house just a few minutes away.

Gladio parked his truck in the driveway, and Ignis pulled up beside him, hauling his overnight bag out of the backseat, only for Gladio to pluck it out of his arms.

“Whaddya got in here? Planning to live with me forever or somethin’?” Gladio asked, jostling the weight of Ignis’s duffel on his shoulder, then leaning over to plant a rough kiss on Ignis’s cheek.

Ignis swatted him away, his cheeks warming at the contact. “It helps to be prepared.”

Gladio laughed, taking no effort to fish his keys out of his pocket and unlock the front door of the quaint farmhouse. 

“Here we are,” said Gladio, holding the door open for Ignis. “Home sweet home.”

The term "small farmhouse" had brought its own preconception of aged furniture in style and in materials, and concerns for structural integrity when Gladio had first told Ignis of his living arrangements, converted from an old guesthouse when Gladio had outgrown his bedroom in the main Amicita farmhouse. 

Instead Ignis walked into a neat but lived in living room, sunlight from the windows bathing every corner, a crocheted throw blanket across the back of the tartan couch facing a wrought iron fireplace. Ignis stepped across solid timber floors to look out the large window to one side of the room overlooking endless fields of farmland.

“It’s lovely.” Ignis ran his hand over the aged timber of the windowsill. “I have to admit it’s not what I expected your house to look like.”

Gladio let out a loud laugh, the sound stirring Ignis’s heart. 

“Mostly my grandparents’ doing. Gran oversaw renovations before they moved off the farm and off to somewhere smaller in town. None of it’s my decoration sense, before you try and shower me with your compliments.”

“I had no plans of doing such a thing.”

“Always a charmer Iggy,” said Gladio with a grin.

“Iggy!” screamed a voice from the doorway. Iris hurled herself from the front door and into Ignis in a bone crushing hug. “I missed you!”

“We saw each other this morning.”

“I know, I know, but I never see you after the markets are all packed up, let me have this.”

Gladio laughed, placing Ignis’s duffle on one of the worn couches. “Why don’t you show him around a little Iris?”

“Leaving me alone again so soon?” Ignis said.

“As much as I’d hate to leave you to die of loneliness here, I need a shower.” Gladio pulled a face, already partway working himself out of his overalls. “You’re lucky we didn’t make the drive here in the same car Iggy.”

“Gross!” Iris groaned. “Come on Iggy, I’ll give you a quick rundown while Stinky here cleans himself up.”

“Yeah, yeah, shut up,” Gladio’s voice yelled from further in the farmhouse.

*** 

Ignis and Iris sat on the front porch, glasses of juice poached from Gladio’s fridge in hand after short walk around the vicinity of Gladio’s house, while Iris pointed at various landmarks and animatedly described them. Though Ignis may not know any more than he did before of Amicitia Farms’ business, he learned of almost every tree Gladio had fallen out of as a child, teenager and eventual adult, the directions to the river where he and Iris used to go for a swim in the summer, and the distance exactly where their farm ended and Leonis’s began—pertinent knowledge for a young Gladio Amicitia looking to tip cows well past midnight.

“I wouldn’t know though,” Iris had said mischievously, “I had nothin’ to do with it.”

“I told you, Nyx dared me to do it,” came Gladio’s voice from behind them, “and I did it ‘cus I was drunk.”

“Anyone darin’ you to tip Old Man Leonis’s cows wanted you dead Gladdy.”

“We were both drunk,” he corrected, ruffling Iris’s hair as he walked towards him. He had exchanged his overalls for a heavy pair of pants, and his shirt from before with a clean flannel shirt, his hair tied into a low bun by the base of his neck. “When you’re done filling Ignis with your lies, can I whisk him away now?”

“My work is never done,” said Iris, but she got up on her feet nonetheless, taking Ignis’s and her glasses in her hands. “Leave cleaning this up to me. You two go do whatever it is you plan to do out there. Canoodle. I dunno. I’ll see you at mom and dad’s!”

Iris gave them a friendly wave before running off to mount a bright red bike leaning on the front fence and riding out back to the direction of the Amicitia farmhouse. 

"So," said Gladio, leaning on the porch beside Ignis, "wanna canoodle?" 

"You were showing me the farm,” said Ignis, a blush threatening to form, his attention fixed on a far off fence. 

"Right, right," Gladio stretched his hand out, "canoodling after then."

Ignis blinked at the hand before slowly taking his large warm palm in his. 

***

They drove back to Gladio’s farmhouse in the evening, bellies full with the dinner Mrs. Amicitia had loaded them up with, heads light from the wine that never seemed to stop flowing with embarrassing childhood story after embarrassing childhood story about the Amicitia siblings. (Iris hadn't been spared). The normally confident and flirtatious Gladiolus flustered under his parents scrutiny only steeling himself when Ignis had reached out and gripped his hand reassuringly under the dinner table. 

“Your family’s lovely,” said Ignis from the passenger seat, chin resting on his hand as he looked out the jeep’s window. The sky was so clear that the the moon lit up the farm fields for miles, especially in the thick of summer. 

“Exhausting too,” said Gladio.

“Energetic, more like,” Ignis corrected, “just like you and Iris.”

“I’d be more concerned if we weren’t,” said Gladio. He placed a hand on Ignis’s knee, sending heat up his groin. “I think they liked ya.”

“Oh good,” Ignis muttered. “That means I won’t have to steal you away in the dead of the night then.”

Gladio let out a laugh, before slowing down to plant a kiss on Ignis’s lips. A short lived one, to Ignis’s annoyance, pulling away just as Ignis leaned in for more. 

“I’m driving Iggy,” chuckled Gladio, only to slow down to a stop again to let Ignis pull his face closer for another kiss.

“Have been for a while,” said Ignis sternly, frowning when Gladio pulled away to speed up again. “Didn’t you live nearby?”

“Yeah, but I wanted to make a quick stop somewhere. I wanted to show you somethin’.”

They drove out for a few more minutes, past empty paddocks with the horses presumably put to sleep wherever horses sleep, until they drove along tall stalks of corn, slowly turning into a dirt path wide enough for a truck through the fields, obscuring Ignis’s view of the wide open scenery with stalks upon stalks of corn.

“What, are you planning to murder me out here?” asked Ignis, nudging Gladio in the side.

Gladio let out a loud laugh. “Naw, I like you too much to do that.”

“And if you didn’t?”

“I wouldn’t murder you out in a corn field,” said Gladio, “you’d deserve something nicer.”

“A barn, at the very least.”

“Exactly! The full farm experience.”

Eventually, the jeep slowed to a halt alongside more stalks of corn.

“Come on, we’re here,” said Gladio. He twisted around to the backseat to grab a rolled up picnic blanket and jumped out of the jeep. Ignis follow behind him, in awe at how the stalks towered over even Gladio, who was a mountain of a man as it is. Gladio seemed to find what he was looking for: another path, narrower than the path they just drove one, just wide enough for them to walk through single file. 

“Where exactly are you taking me?” Ignis said, swatting away the leaves in his face.

“You’ll see in a bit.”

Gladio reached out behind him, and Ignis grabbed his hand, letting himself be led through the corn, swatting away the leaves in his face in annoyance, until they reached a small clearing, encircled by the tall stalks. 

“We’re here,” Gladio declared in triumph.

“Is this what you wanted to show me?”

“Yep,” Gladio said with a low chuckle. He unravelled his picnic blanket, laying it on top of the bare ground. “More corn.”

Ignis pursed his lips together, and crossed his arms.

“I’m joking,” said Gladio. “Corn’s just a part of it. Come lie down next to me.”

Doing as he was instructed, Ignis sat down on the ground covered with the checkered blanket, lying beside Gladio, already flat on his back. He looked at Gladio and Gladio pointed his chin up towards the sky and only then did Ignis look up at the endless night sky, clearer than he’d ever seen it in his life, the blanket of darkness over them, painted over  with swathes of bright white stars, framed with the tall looming stalks.

“My goodness,” was all Ignis could manage to say as he folded his hands over his chest. Gladio laughed and scooted closer beside him, his hands folded under his head. 

“Gorgeous view isn’t it?” said Gladio. 

“Is this the part where you tell me that the stars don’t look too half bad either?”

Gladio laughed, throwing his head back, the sound echoing throughout the silence. “Ah well, you got me.”

“How romantic,” said Ignis flatly, though he smiled despite himself. “Corny, even.”

Gladio let out a choked groan in disgust and Ignis laughed, snuggling tighter against him. 

“I know it’s nothin’ fancy but now’s about the time when the crop’s at its highest.” Gladio took a deep inhale, letting it out as relieved sigh. “It’s great for just hidin’ away and watching the world pass by. No one to come lookin’ for me, or askin’ me for anythin’. No one to expect anythin’ from you.”

Ignis glanced at Gladio, watching his hopeful eyes cast up at the sky. “Until you leave the corn field.”

Gladio laughed. “Until I leave the corn field. But a short break for even a moment’s nice, once in a while.”

Ignis laid back down on the picnic blanket, staring up at the sky again. When he leaves this corn field, then this country town, back to his life in the city, it’d be hitting play again, starting his Monday, racing through 12 hour days of deed transfers and property purchases and precedents, through to Friday, spending his weekends catching what he could of Gladio, sleep and housework, before starting the week again. 

“I’d like to borrow your corn field then, if that’s alright with you.”

Gladio smiled, shutting his eyes, content to bask in the summer evening. “Take all the time that you need.”

They laid out on the field for sometime, talking quietly about the plans Gladio had in store for them during Ignis’s stay for the weekend, the places they’ll go, the people he wanted him to meet, until it was only eventually Gladio still chattering along, and Ignis listened, tired but with complete attention and eagerness. 

A yawn escaped Ignis’s lips, to his shock and embarrassment.

“Ready for bed?” Gladio asked, a smile on his face. “We should probably head back to mine.”

Blood rushed down from what was pooling in Ignis’s head in embarrassment, straight down to his groin. He nodded, careful not to seem frantic when Gladio added—

“I have a guest room Iris usually uses whenever she gets sick of being at home. You can use that tonight.”

Ignis’s racing thoughts, which had accumulated more and more of what he wanted Gladio to do to him over the course of the day, came to a screeching halt.

“Excuse me?  _ Guest bedroom? _ ”

Gladio blinked, puzzled by Ignis’s reaction.

“I know you’re used to something fancier, but it’s actually pretty cosy.”

“You’re not inviting me to  _ your _ bedroom?”  Ignis asked.

“Did ya wanna swap?” said Gladio, his brows furrowing deeper with his confusion. “My bedroom’s got the bigger bathroom, in case you need the space to keep lookin’ that good in the morning.”

Not even that offhand compliment could detract Ignis, a man on a mission. 

“No, you  _ idiot _ , I'm asking if I can  _ sleep _ with  _ you _ .”

In the dim light, Ignis could make out the slightest flush in Gladio’s sun kissed skin. Gladio blinked again, and ruffled the back of his hair. “I mean, I have a big bed, but I’m a big guy too. Don’t want you to be uncomfortable after the long drive here.”

Ignis groaned. He sat up on his knees, straddling a surprised Gladio on the picnic blanket. Grabbing him by the front of his shirt, he said, with all propriety disguised as subtlety thrown out the farmhouse window— 

“Gladiolus Amicitia. How much clearer do you need me to spell out that I want you to  _ fuck _ me?”

Any attempts at willing away a blush were all but futile, with Gladio’s face burning a deep crimson.

“That is, if you wanted that as well,” Ignis quickly added. He freed Gladio’s shirt from his grip, his eyes gazing down at Gladio’s chest. “I understand if it’s too soon, or if perhaps, you just don’t want to, you don’t necessarily need a reason.”

“Iggy,” said Gladio, his voice oozing warmth, that Ignis couldn’t resist the urge to lift his head. Sitting up, Gladio laid a gentle hand on his shoulder and continued, “It’s okay. I really wanna do this with you too, very badly,” he added. “I just—” He ruffled the back of his head. “If anything, I just didn't know if you would ever even want to _. _ ” 

“Of course I do Gladio.” Ignis threw his hands up in front of him. “I’m saying it now. I do.”

“I mean. Y’know. With me.”

Ignis raised an eyebrow. “I can’t think of any other Gladiolus Amicitia I’ve been dating the past few months.” 

Gladio’s smile returned, and he rubbed the back of his neck.

“This probably isn’t the time to be havin’ this conversation. I like you lot Iggy. But I never really thought I’d get a shot with someone like you,” said Gladio, shoulders slumped, gaze uncertain, so unlike his regular mirth. “And for you to stick around this long? Figured you’d be bored of the country bumpkin soon enough.”

Ignis’s heart sank. 

“The drive to the fairgrounds from the city centre is an hour and a half, in good traffic, say two on a regular day,” said Ignis. “It’s another hour to get to your property. Now, tell me, Gladio, would I make that drive as often as I do, for some  _ country bumpkin _ ?”

Gladio smiled, though forlorn. “Heh. When you put it that way.” 

Holding him by the cheeks, Ignis pulled him closer for a kiss.

“I’ve wanted you Gladio. So badly. The last few weeks were some of the longest I’ve gone through.”

To Ignis’s surprise, Gladio laughed. “That’s what I get for doubtin’ myself. I could’ve been sendin’ you pictures of my dick and not just vegetables that look like ‘em.”

After taking one more look at Gladio’s stupid but relieved grin, Ignis grabbed Gladio by the front of his shirt again, pulling him into a crushing kiss. There was a flash of panic as Gladio remained frozen in his grip, until Gladio tentatively wrapped his arms around Ignis’s waist, meeting each and every one of Ignis’s kisses with his own. One of Ignis’s hands travelled up Gladio’s shoulder to caress the back of his neck, the other hand pressed onto the flannel on Gladio’s chest to bring their bodies closer, anything to tell Gladio, sweet but hesitant Gladio, that Ignis wanted this. 

“Really?” said Gladio, voice already ragged and breathless. “Out here?”

Ignis took his glasses off, neatly folding them to sit beside the blanket beside them. “You’ve made me wait this long Gladio, I don’t think I can any longer.”

There was just one important thing he should mention. Ignis slowed, pulling away to catch his breath.

“You alright?”

“Yeah,” said Ignis. “I’m fine.” He ran his hand over Gladio’s chest. “But I have to ask. Have you done this with another man before?”

Gladio blinked in thought, the question seemingly taking him by surprise. “Yeah, a couple of times.”

“Good,” said Ignis plainly. “It simplifies things that at least one of us has. I can just tell you what to do and you’ll know what I’m talking about.”

“Wait, what?” Gladio choked out. “You mean, you’ve never—? Like with a man, or—?”

Ignis chuckled. “Ever.” 

“I mean, I don’t care about that sort of thing, but you’re so—” Gladio gestured wildly at Ignis’s whole person.

Though flattered, Ignis nevertheless shrugged. “It was never at the top of my priority list.”

“That’s it?”

“Pretty much. Seemed a bit of an involved process to find someone I trusted enough, so I kept putting it off. I took care of myself well enough. And here we are.”

Gladio pursed his lips, his eyes widening at the insinuation of Ignis “taking care of himself.” He cleared his throat, then asked, “So, does this mean you trust me?”

Ignis glanced away, his fingers curling against his lap. 

“I suppose I do.”

Gladio’s hand laid on top of his, bringing Ignis to meet his warm smile.

“Thanks Iggy.” Gladio tightened his hold around Ignis’s waist, pulling them close together. “I don’t take this lightly,” he said, and he pressed their lips together again. 

Hands roamed under his shirt, stroking the bare skin of Ignis’s back. It was Ignis who boldly parted his lips, deepening the kiss, the sensation of Gladio’s tongue sliding against his sending pinpricks of heat across the back of his neck. A groan rumbled from Gladio and Ignis became aware of the growing bulge through Gladio’s jeans, pressing against his as he deftly unbuttoned his own shirt. Ignis swallowed a lump down his thrown, then, he rolled his hips, the contact between their clothed groins making Ignis sigh into Gladio’s lips in relief. Gladio cupped Ignis’s rear through his slacks, and he let his fingers fumble with the buttons on Gladio’s flannel shirt between them next, and were Ignis not a gentleman, he would’ve shoved Gladio flat onto the ground when his shirt revealed firm muscle covered with dark chest hair. He settled for running his hands over the sliver of muscled chest instead, travelling down to firm abs dusted with hair, down to the waistband of his jeans—

“Wait,” Gladio grunted between kisses, “Hang on.”

“What’s wrong?”

Gladio let out an exhale. “I wish I knew we were having sex tonight.”

Ignis blinked, puzzling out what Gladio could probably be stressing about now. 

“Oh, I came prepared,” said Ignis, startled by the interruption. He stuffed his hands in his pockets pulling out his condoms and lube.

Both of Gladio’s eyebrows shot up. “Do y’all just carry those on you out in the city?”

“It’s not what it looks like!” said Ignis. “I was in a rush when I was buying them, I forgot to put them in my bag.”

“Doesn’t eliminate the problem,” muttered Gladio. Pulling away, he unbuttoned his jeans, head hung low, eyes cast between his legs. It made Ignis’s heart sink to watch him unzip his jeans himself, Ignis had wanted to be the one to do that, only for his pulse to kick start again at the sight of Gladio’s sizeable bulge through his gray briefs.

With no preamble, grace or sense of ceremony, Gladio tugged his cock out from his underwear.

Ignis ran his tongue between his lips as he looked down at Gladio’s long, thick, semi-erect and uncut cock, but it was the gleaming silver barbell protruding from one side of the head, emerging to a balled end on the other side that had Ignis practically salivating.

“I forgot I had this.” Gladio ruffled the back of his head. “It doesn’t play too nicely with condoms. I get tested regularly, but I don’t wanna make you uncomfortable. Why don’t we head back? I can take it out and we can pick up from where we left off.”

Before Gladio could rise from his spot on the picnic blanket, Ignis stopped him with a hand on his wrist. 

"I don't mind foregoing one if you don't," said Ignis. 

Gladio flushed even deeper. "This isn't me bragging, but I'm pretty big as it is and that takes a while to adjust to, especially with my piercing in." 

"I've had plenty of time to adjust to all shapes and sizes far bigger than you," said Ignis with a shrug.

Gladio's eyebrows knitted close together. "I thought you said—" 

" _ Dildos _ exist Gladio. I have quite the varied collection and have had plenty of time to figure out what I can take. A cock with a piercing would be nothing in comparison." 

Gladio’s eyes widened even further, choking on a noise that contained no words in any language known to man. 

"I know what you're thinking," Ignis tutted. "Goodness. You're the one between us shameless enough to get your dick pierced, and yet you can't even hear me talk about dildos without thinking about what I look like taking them in." 

"That's not what I was doing!" Gladio spluttered. 

"Let's see how we fare tonight and then maybe next time you can watch me demonstrate how much I've learned by myself, hmm?" Gladio let out another choked noise and Ignis silenced him with a hand placed on his lap. “May I?”

Still bewildered from their exchange, Gladio nodded eagerly. "Um. Sure. Why not!" 

Tentatively, Ignis reached out to lightly grip at Gladio’s cock, testing its heft as he began to stroke it in his hand. Gladio’s cock was on the bigger end, and it ran hot in his hand as carefully pumped it, Ignis's eyes growing wide at Gladio’s foreskin retracting as he grew harder. 

Gladio groaned.

“Does this feel okay?” said Ignis, his voice near breaking, his pants beginning to feel restricting.

“Yep,” Gladio croaked out. “Grip it a little tighter.”

Jerking himself off was easy enough, but to do it for someone else was to learn to jerk off all over again, the rewards for getting something right immediate in the way that Gladio screwed his eyes shut, and bucked his hips into Ignis’s fist, precum beginning to bead in the slit of his cock. Rubbing the slit with his thumb, Ignis swallowed the saliva pooling in his mouth. 

Gaze fixed between his legs, Ignis patted Gladio’s lap. “Could you get up on your feet for me?” 

"Would I— You're asking me if—" Gladio stuttered, despite scrambling to get on his feet anyway.

Inching closer to kneel between Gladio’s legs, Ignis blinked back, waiting for a response in earnest. “Do you mind?”

"I don't mind," Gladio said in one breath. 

"I've always wanted to try this," muttered Ignis, as he continued to stroke Gladio's cock. He lifted it up and slowly ran his wetted tongue along the underside. The skin was warm and salty on his tongue, and he licked up his shaft again, this time glancing back at Gladio as he swirled his tongue around his piercing. 

"Shit—" Gladio groaned. 

Ignis has never had a cock in his mouth before, not a real one at least, but he's done his research, and he's  _ practiced,  _ never one to be caught unprepared. 

Gladio’s dick, as was the man himself, was flesh and blood, its warmth and weight against his tongue tantalising, his aroma heady, surrounding Ignis completely, reminding him that this was Gladio, and not just Ignis by himself in his dark apartment sucking on a plastic cock. Best of all were Ignis’s rewards for his efforts and thoroughly practiced movements: Gladio’s tightening grip in Ignis’s hair, his low, rumbling moans, every gasp of Ignis’s hair an indication of everything Ignis was doing right, which had to be  _ a lot _ by the sounds of it—emboldened Ignis, urging him to bob his head down further, fitting more of Gladio’s cock in his mouth that he could, whilst eagerly pumping the rest with his fist. Caught in the moment, Ignis attempted to swallow down more of Gladio’s length, when Gladio squeezed at his shoulder.

Carefully pulling himself off of Gladio’s cock, Ignis raised an eyebrow. “Am I doing something wrong?”

“Fuck no,” Gladio grunted, “But if you keep doing everything  _ right _ , I’m not gonna last long. Plus I gotta take care of you too.”  Gladio rubbed Ignis’ s cheek with his thumb, then lowered himself to sit back in front of him again. “You’ve been doing such a good job and I’ve been raised on the merits of being rewarded for your hard work. ” He squeezed Ignis’s knee. “Can I?

With a shaky nod, Ignis sat up on the blanket, knees bent, socked feet flat on the firm surface, watching Gladio part his knees and unbutton his now too-tight jeans. Ignis lifted his hips as Gladio tugged them down, sliding them off his legs. 

Sitting up, Gladio unbuttoned his shirt all the way, sliding it off his shoulders to drop onto the ground behind him. Ignis took in his broad shoulders in the dim light, the firm swell of his muscles, the dusting of hair along his chest, and finally, the tattoo which he had seen glimpses of peeking through his shirt sleeves, spanning his shoulders and biceps. He followed the head of the bird on his chest, ignoring Gladio’s amused grin, and a glint of silver on either side of his nipples caught Ignis’s eye.

Ignis’s mouth dried up.

“Really?” Ignis muttered, “your nipples too?”

“That shouldn’t be so shocking after the first one,” said Gladio. “Or the massive tattoo.”

“I know, it’s just that.” Ignis pursed his lips. “You just didn’t seem the type.”

Gladio’s easy grin fell.

“If it’s not your thing, I can take them out for tonight.” He said, shrinking in on his hulking frame. “I wasn’t trying to deceive ya, or anything.”

“Goodness, no, deceive me? They don’t bother me in the slightest, it was merely a pleasant surprise. If anything, I’m curious to find out how I can capitalise on this.”

To emphasise his point, he reached out towards Gladio’s chest, tugging on the metal bar through his nipple. 

Gladio let out a shuddered groan.

Hands on either side of Ignis’s waistband, Gladio’s face lit up again, and he tugged Ignis’s briefs down his long legs, tossing them to the side as well. Ignis’s cock was drawn tight, aching and flushed with arousal. Ignis reached out to touch it, anything to relieve himself of the tension, only for Gladio to swat his hand away, and take his cock in his fist instead.

“Have you ever had anyone do this for you before?” he asked, as he carefully worked his fist.

Speechless, transfixed by the way Gladio’s large hand engulfed his cock, Ignis shook his head.

“Then lemme take care of ya.”

Ignis nodded, clutching onto Gladio’s shoulders as Gladio’s large calloused palm gently stroked his hard length, sending a shudder throughout his body.

“This good?” Gladio asked, a rough whisper against Ignis’s ear.

“Yes,” Ignis managed to stutter, “keep going.”

Gladio continued his pace, then pressed their lips together in a deep kiss, while his fist languidly stroked him and Ignis struggled to concentrate on just one thing.

Simple as the act maybe, it was strange having someone else do this to him. Overtime it’s become predictable for Ignis to take care of himself, if one can even call it that with how almost clinical his precision’s been, just to take the edge off after a long day of work, but then Gladio would twist his grip just so, and Ignis would buck his hips into Gladio’s fist.

“You liked that huh?” said Gladio, pulling away from Ignis to let out a breathy chuckle.

Ignis’s cheeks flushed. “Is this it though? Can’t imagine this is anything I wouldn’t have experienced in a high school locker room.”

“O-ho, so he’s not impressed,” said Gladio. “Go on, lie down.”

Ignis did as instructed, lying flat on his back, parting his legs for Gladio. Gladio settled between his legs, still lazily stroking his cock, he pressed a kiss to Ignis’s neck, down to his bare chest, his stomach, lower still, until without warning, he dragged his tongue along the underside of Ignis’s cock.

“Fuck,” Ignis hissed.

“I’m guessing you haven’t had your dick sucked before either?”

Cheeks burning, Ignis shook his head again. 

Gladio chuckled, his breath on Ignis’s cock maddening. 

“Gonna be setting the bar high for you.”

Before Ignis could retort, his cock was engulfed in the hot, wet heat of Gladio’s mouth, his soft lips a stark contrast to his rough palms. He bobbed his head slowly, getting Ignis used to the sensation.

“Gladio—” Ignis gasped. He grabbed onto the back of Gladio’s head, pulling tighter as Gladio sucked his cheeks in. “Fuck, that feels—”

To Ignis’s shock, Gladio swallowed down even more of Ignis’s length, until his nose was almost touching his pubes. Ignis was at a loss for words, his cock trapped in even more mind numbing pressure. Ignis paused to catch his breath, only to have it knocked out of his gut again when Gladio looked up at him, his honeyed eyes bright and searching through his thick lashes, and it took all of Ignis’s willpower to stop himself from coming down Gladio’s throat.

That would just be rude.

With a glint in his eye, Gladio began to bob his head again in earnest, letting what Ignis’s cock could fuck of his throat, speeding up at the sound of Ignis’s moans, his hand reaching out to grasp and rub at Ignis’s hip bones, urging him to fuck into his mouth, which Ignis did, once he’d overcome his hesitation. 

“Don’t hold yourself back. I wanna know how good I make you feel. No one’ll hear you for miles, so you can be as loud as you want,” said Gladio. His lips shining with spit, he gave Ignis his usual cocky grin. “Hang on a sec.”

Ignis swallowed a lump down his throat as he watched Gladio squeeze a dollop of lube to rub between his fingers.

“Still okay?”

“Yes,” said Ignis,” you were saying? About setting a high bar?”

“I’ll get to it, hold on to your horses,” Gladio chuckled, like he wasn’t casually pressing two fingers against Ignis’s rim, the contact instantly making him jolt, reacting to his touch as Gladio worked slow circles against his entrance, just as he took Ignis’s cock back into his mouth.

This time, with the sight of Gladio between his bare legs, amongst the backdrop of the star filled sky and stalks of corn hiding them away from everybody else, Ignis couldn’t bite back his groan.

Gladio would’ve grinned had his mouth not been full of cock, but instead, he continued lazily sucking Ignis off, just as he pressed one finger in, wriggling his finger and stroking inside him for a moment, before pressing in a second finger, going in easy. Gladio’s eyes lit up in surprise.

“I told you,” Ignis hissed; Gladio’s fingers were thicker than his, and Ignis could feel the slightest stretch. “I’ve practiced.”

“You’re tryin’ to distract me again aren’t’cha?” Gladio grinned to himself, he curled his fingers, pawing inside him, gently working him open. “Relax, Iggy.”

Ignis nodded, letting out a deep exhale, willing away the tension in his body. To help him along, Gladio returned his mouth around Ignis’s cock, gently sucking and licking along his length, a welcome distraction from the stretch of Gladio’s fingers stretching out his ass. 

Not that it was anything Ignis hadn’t done for himself before, to take in toys far bigger than Gladio, but to let himself go? In front of another person? 

Releasing his cock from his mouth but never letting up the slow strokes in Ignis’s ass, Gladio moved up to press a kiss to Ignis’s forehead.

“Oops,” Gladio sais. “That okay? I just had your dick in my mouth.”

Ignis paused, blinking dumbly at Gladio. Then, he laughed.

“You’re also knuckle deep in my ass in the middle of a corn field, if anything, a kiss is the least you could do.”

“I guess I got no choice,” said Gladio. He pressed their lips together, their noses bumping, mouths missing each other, both too distracted to maintain any semblance of rhythm. Focused intently on Gladio’s mouth—and fighting off the embarrassment at Gladio’s laughs whenever their heads bumped with a tug of Gladio’s nipple piercings to gain an upper hand—Ignis almost didn’t notice when Gladio worked a third finger in.

“Shit,” Ignis hissed.

“Too much?”

“No, that’s fine,” said Ignis. “But I won’t last much longer if you drag this out.”

Gladio chuckled. “I know, but I don’t wanna hurt ya. If you get off now, I can get you going again, so don’t worry about that.” 

Ignis rolled his eyes at Gladio’s bravado, but he willed himself to relax nonetheless, to let him take in more of Gladio’s fingers, until he could more easily thrust them. It wasn’t until he curled his fingers upwards that Ignis arched off the ground with a yelp. Taking this as his confirmation, Gladio lightly massaged over that spot, pressing kisses to Ignis’s temple as he went.

“That’s enough,” Ignis groaned.

“You sure?”

“Yes. Any more of that and I might blow. And I’ve decided I have every intention doing that on your cock,” said Ignis, giving Gladio’s nipple piercing another tug for emphasis.

Gladio sat back on his heels, stroking his own cock, a sly smile on his face. 

“Only if you don’t stop doin’ that.” Gladio slicked his cock with lube, kneeling between Ignis’s legs. For a moment, Gladio’s sly smile fell again, but this time, to a look of concern. He added, his voice serious, “I know you can take bigger dicks like a champ, but you’ll tell me if you ever wanna stop alright?”

Ignis’s heart had never stopped pounding so loudly in his ears, but the sincerity in Gladio’s eyes dampened the deafening sound of his anxiety and unease. 

“This better me amazing with how much you’re keeping me on edge,” said Ignis.

The corner of Gladio’s lips quirked in a smile. 

“Yes,” Ignis continued, his voice small. “I promise.”

“Good,” said Gladio. “But you know me. I always deliver.”

“Now that was just plain  _ awful _ .”

Gladio flashed him another reassuring smile, before leaning over to kiss Ignis again. 

He took his cock in his hand, making Ignis more aware of his length and his girth. Gladio lined up the tip with his rim, slowly, pressing it in. Ignis took a deep breath, relaxing enough to let the pierced head of Gladio’s cock catch his rim.

“Does that feel okay?” Gladio asked.

“A bit strange,” Ignis muttered, letting out a shuddered exhale. “Not the weirdest thing I’ve put in there though.”

“Yeah, one of these days, you’re gonna have to show me what you do with your collection,” said Gladio, his voice strained.

“One step at a time.”

Gladio continued to roll his hips, while Ignis took slow and even breaths, letting himself take in more and more of him in. It was okay. This was Gladio. Gladio who messages him pictures of phallic looking vegetables to combat his vegetable puns. There was nothing he’ll see in Ignis that would change how Gladio felt about him.

“That’s it baby,” Gladio muttered, his breath shaky with every short thrust of his hips until he was pressed flush against Ignis. Leaning forward to brace his hands on either side of Ignis’s head, Gladio chuckled. “You weren’t kidding. You took all of me in.”

“I don’t ever half-arse things,” Ignis said, Gladio laughed again, his grin setting Ignis’s heart at ease. He took another deep breath, adjusting to the sensation of Gladio’s girth filling him. “In any case, dick’s the easy bit,” he added, letting his gaze wander away from Gladio’s face, so close to him that Ignis had never felt more exposed. A hand caressed his cheek, and with a thumb and a forefinger by his chin, turned him back to face Gladio.

“It’s okay,” said Gladio. His hand wrapped around Ignis’s cock, having flagged from the stretch and the anxiety. “You can leave the rest to me. Am I okay to move?”

Ignis swallowed, then nodded.

Gladio started rolling his hips again, slowly, eyebrows knit in concentration as he moved. Ignis clutched at the picnic blanket, dug his heels into the firm ground, relishing the slide of Gladio’s girth against his rim, only barely perceiving the sensation of Gladio’s piercing inside him with every thrust.

One of Gladio’s hands moved down to grasp at his hip, giving him leverage to thrust just that smidgen harder. Shaking his own shirt off his shoulders, drenched in sweat now anyway, Ignis grasped onto Gladio’s shoulders for purchase. Ignis bit down on his lip, his breaths growing heavy, his head swimming, light despite the every thought and feeling and perception of Gladio in and around him that filled it. 

“This okay?” Gladio asked.

“Yes,” gasped Ignis, “it feels good right there.”

Gladio tilted his hips and slammed back in, the pierced head of his cock driving right where Ignis needed it.

“There, keep going — !” Ignis gasped.

Ever obedient, Gladio maintained his thrusts. Ignis’s heart rang through his ears, his head and gut and cock pulsing with every one of Gladio’s thrusts. It was perfect, exactly the way Ignis would’ve for himself, except—

“Gladio—” he managed to say.

“Yeah?”

“Can you kiss me?” 

Gladio’s grin was wide and comforting, and he leaned down further to let Ignis tighten his embrace around his broad shoulders and wrap his legs around his waist, pressing their lips together.

“A little faster,” Ignis muttered.

Gladio quickened his pace, their continued kisses growing sloppy and messy. For years, Ignis would say that he could take care of his needs just fine, to have someone else take over, and to control the pace, the angle, the depth of every thrust, brought with it an uncertainty but also an anticipation of where Gladio might take him. The concentration in Gladio’s brow, his sweaty palm against his hips, his firm muscles under Ignis’s fingers. The summer breeze against his bare sweat soaked skin. Ignis was close. He’s never been accustomed to someone else taking this control, someone who would keep going when Ignis himself didn’t know if he could find it in himself to let go.

“I’m close,” Ignis gasped. “Faster.”

There was a shift in Gladio’s hips, then he sped up, Ignis’s name smatterred in between each ragged breath. Ignis clung onto Gladio’s shoulders, each thrust a pulse behind his eyelids. As if he wasn’t overwhelmed enough, Gladio’s hand on his hip found its way back around Ignis’s cock, pumping in time to his movements, and after a few short tugs, Ignis choked out a moan, releasing into Gladio’s fist.

“That’s it Iggy,” Gladio muttered, pressing kisses on his face as he milked Ignis’s orgasm. 

Ignis grasped on to Gladio’s cheeks, taking his lips in another deep kiss. “What about you?” he asked, still vaguely aware of the hard cock inside him.

“Hmm? Don’t worry about me,” Gladio muttered. “I can finish myself off.”

Ignis frowned. “And deprive me of the full experience?”

Face already soaked in sweat, Gladio’s cheeks flushed red. “We don’t have to.”

“But what if I wanted you to?” Ignis asked, head still light from his orgasm. That could only explain why he was so daring. He stroked Gladio’s cheek with the back of his fingers. “If you’re comfortable with it.”

Gladio let out a laboured sigh. 

“Of course I am, especially with you,” said Gladio. “But hey, if it helps you take on more practice.”

“Go on then,” Ignis muttered, almost spent, “use me.” The way Gladio’s ears glowed red set Ignis’s chest ablaze. Gladio began his thrusts anew, each slide against Ignis’s oversensitive rim instinctively making him recoil within himself. With one hand, Gladio held one of his thighs open, and with his other hand, he interlaced their fingers together, pressing their linked hands against firm covered ground for leverage as he fucked into Ignis harder, the contact against Ignis’s prostate dulling and soon, drowning out his oversensitivity. Gladio’s hips jerked, his thrusts grew erratic, until it was Gladio’s turn to let out a choked groan, his hips stuttering as warmth pooled inside Ignis’s ass.

It was a strange feeling, though not wholly unpleasant. Possibly something Ignis could get used to.

It was silent again, save for the rustle of the warm breeze through the leaves and their shallow breaths. Ignis’s head rolled back, Gladio’s face was pressed against the picnic blanket beside him, sounding like he had run a marathon himself. Lifting his head, he pressed more kisses to Ignis’s face. He pulled his softened dick out, making Ignis whine from the sudden emptiness. Gladio laughed, rolling to lie beside Ignis after he had zipped his pants back up. Ignis slipped his underwear back on, and Gladio’s flannel shirt was thrown over his shoulders. He laid back down on the blanket, facing Gladio, the flannel drawn snug around him. Gladio’s hand caressed his cheek, his smile never once faltering, his soft gaze never leaving Ignis’s.

“Thank you,” Ignis said, his voice coming out raspy. “For taking care of me,” he added quietly.

“Of course,” said Gladio, his smile tired, but its warmth never diminishing. “And I’d do it again. If you’d have me.”

“After your performance? I’d be a fool not to.”

“I’m so lucky you have no standards,” he said with a laugh. 

Ignis let out a puff of air. “I do too have standards.”

“You had sex for your first time out in a cornfield.”

“That is neither here nor there,” said Ignis, his eyes squinting, feeling more at ease than he should feel, half naked on a picnic blanket out in an open field. 

Gladio laughed. “Wanna head back to my place and clean up? You look wiped out.”

Ignis paused in thought. Back to his place to sleep, and then it would be the next day, one day less with Gladio. “Could we stay here just a little longer?

Gladio smiled. “Sure.” He squirmed beside Ignis, inching closer. “But can we cuddle?”

Ignis’s cheeks warmed. He’d asked this man to finish inside him only moments ago and yet such an innocent suggestion sent his heart racing.

“I don’t see why not,” Ignis said.

Gladio’s smile spread wider, as he moved to snake an arm behind Ignis’s shoulders and sling his other arm over Ignis’s waist, Ignis’s skin tingling under everywhere that Gladio touched, filling his chest with warmth. He leaned closer and place a hand on Gladio’s chest.

The glint of silver from before caught his eye.

“So the piercings…” he whispered, his fingers ghosting over the pierced nub, “and the tattoo.” His fingers ghosted over the dark ink. “Any reasons for them?”

“Reasons?”

“Family reasons?” he asked, then added, after considering the question properly, “well the tattoo at least.”

Gladio let out a deep guffaw, the rumble through his chest sending a wave of affection over Ignis. 

“Nah, not really, nothin’ like that. Especially not the piercing downstairs,” Gladio chuckled, unintimidated by Ignis’s glare. “I was bored and I was young. A lot of my old friends moved to go to college, and the only ones left bet that I’d be too chicken to get my dick done. So; bored, young and in the middle of nowhere, I bet them I could do it.”

“That had better been worth it.”

“The money? Fuck no, it hurt like hell. All my partners who weren’t scared away loved it, I’d say  _ that _ was worth it,” Gladio explained, his hand idly rubbing Ignis’s lower back under the flannel shirt. “But I liked it. I know it was a dumb bet, but I could’ve easily said no. I liked doing something ‘cus I wanted to. Not ‘cus it’s the only option. Went for my nipples next then, I got it in my head that I wanted this massive tattoo.” Gladio grinned. “Sorry ‘bout that. Bet you weren’t expecting a loaded answer.”

“Loaded or not, I still asked,” said Ignis. “It makes sense, after what your sister told me today.”

“You talked to her about my piercings?”

“No, not like that. About you staying out here.” Ignis slapped Gladio’s chest. “You’ve never thought to, I don’t know, broaden your horizons?”

“I never really felt like I needed to.” Gladio blinked back at Ignis and shrugged. “I’d say dating you is as broad as they get. I didn’t even think you’d give me the chance! But I’m happy right where I am. Always have been. My parents ain’t gettin’ any younger and no one else’ll take over, so they get help, I have work. Everyone wins.” Gladio’s voice trailed off. He was quiet for a moment, then he asked, “What about you though?”

“What about me?”

“You said taking dick’s the easy bit. What’s the hard bit?” Gladio chortled. “Other than the dick I guess.”

Ignis slapped Gladio’s shoulder in annoyance. “I didn’t think you’d notice that.”

“Well?”

Ignis held Gladio’s flannel shirt around his shoulders tighter. “The person attached to it I suppose.”

Gladio said nothing, only trawled his fingers through Ignis’s tousled hair with a serene smile on his face, his gaze tender.

“I should learn a little about broadenin’ my horizons from ya.”

Ignis smiled back. “You’ve plenty of time to learn. I’m not going anywhere anytime soon.”

Ignis almost felt bad dredging up Gladio’s insecurities from before with the way he winced in embarrassment, but there was a pinch to his side, and Gladio broke out into a smile again.

“You know what. There is a downside about staying out here now. I’ll miss you when you go back home.” Gladio said quietly. “Will you miss me?”

Ducking his chin to hide his flush, Ignis scoffed. “I got along just fine before I met you, and even after then, distance was never an issue.” Ignis shifted in Gladio’s grip. “Now that I know how clingy you are, I’d probably prefer it.”

Gladio pinched his hip. “Really? Even after you’ve had a taste of the real thing?”

Ignis paused, a comeback dying on his lips. Gladio looked at him, patiently waiting for Ignis to respond, his hand hot where it lazily stroked at Ignis’s hip. Even while trying to get a rise out of Ignis, his smile was something Ignis could never tear himself away from. What would it be like, to doze off in his arms every night to such a sight, and to wake up to that cheeky grin again in the morning? He’d have to set his clock to Gladio’s. Though an early riser himself, Ignis could never fathom waking up well before the sun like him. But with his warm and vibrant and overpowering presence, he may as well light up a room the same way the rising sun did. 

He thought back to his apartment. To his modern, spacious bed, cold, no matter the season. Falling asleep in luxurious sheets, pulling them around him like some makeshift hug. Waking up to the alarm clock that gave its buzzy and orderly beeps at the same time every morning, looking out at the horizon obscured by the city skyline, and the sound of Gladio’s voice over the phone, always seeming so distant every time he’s had the chance to experience it in person.

“Of course,” Ignis said. “Doesn’t make a huge difference to me.”

Gladio shook his head in defeat. “Well I tried.”

“I’m here for the weekend,” said Ignis, leaning in closer against Gladio’s body heat, pressing his forehead against his. “You can give me something to get used to.”

**Author's Note:**

> I really wanted to write this to commemorate one whole year since summer gladnis week last august but I got really busy with irl things and my mental health has been in the shitter the past few months so it’s a little late! 
> 
> I thought it was fitting since it was the first fandom event i’d ever joined and I am forever grateful for the gladnis fandom, everyone who’s ever read or commented on my fic, and for all the friends i’ve made that got me through this shit show that is known as 2020. you've all helped me become a better writer, and hell, a better person than I was last year.
> 
> a special thanks to beefy for your corn expertise and help with editing this fic, as well as for your encouragement and all your chaos this year. wouldn't be where i am without you bro


End file.
